Two arrested for murder of Punjab bizman killed in shootout, cop hurt
A day after the broad daylight murder of leading businessman Sanjay Verma, co-owner of renowned men’s tailoring showroom New Wear Well Emporium here, the police shot dead two suspects in an exchange of fire near the Panjpeer shrine on the outskirts of town.
The police termed it an act of self-defence during which a senior constable was also injured. His condition is stated to be out of danger.
Sanjay (58) was shot dead by three assailants who were waiting near Bhagat Singh Chowk. He was attacked outside his showroom in a Hyundai i20 car at 10.15 am on Monday. The spot, located in the heart of town, is covered by at least 10 CCTV cameras.
The incident triggered widespread outrage, raising questions about the law and order situation. This was the fourth such killing in less than 10 days. Opposition parties cornered the AAP government over the “deteriorating situation”.
Soon after the murder, a Facebook post — allegedly by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s aide Aarzoo Bishnoi, along with Goldy Dhillon and Shubham Lonker from Maharashtra — claimed responsibility for the attack, stating, “We had called him regarding a matter, but he refused to recognise us. We shot him dead to make it clear who we are. He used to support our enemies.”
DIG, Ferozepur Range, Harmanbir Singh Gill said two suspects — Ram Rattan of Patiala and Jaspreet Singh of Mardanpur village in Patiala — were arrested. “When they were taken to the site where the weapons used in the crime were concealed, their accomplices, already present there to retrieve the weapons, opened fire. In self-defence, our team retaliated and the arrested duo was killed. A .30 bore pistol and some empty cartridges were recovered. Senior constable Maninder Singh sustained a bullet injury on his arm and is being treated,” he said.
The three assailants who shot Sanjay from point-blank range remain at large. “Those killed today had helped the three assailants flee in a Swift car. They were identified through CCTV clips. They had changed clothes and removed headgear, but our teams managed to track them. We are hopeful of arresting the remaining three accused and the mastermind soon,” said the DIG.
Later, a fresh Facebook post from the name of Aarzoo Bishnoi alleged that the police staged a fake and politically driven encounter, killed two innocent men who had only offered a lift. The post, vowing to fight for justice, claimed, “The weapons were planted, and the two were picked up from Patiala and killed while on remand. The people they are talking about, who actually fired the bullets, have long slipped out of their reach.”
Earlier in the day, Special DGP (Law & Order) Arpit Shukla and DIG (AGTF) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan visited the crime scene. Though they shared no details, except regarding the arrest of the two suspects, sources said the police had identified the remaining suspects and detained family members of one of them as well.
An FIR has been registered based on the statement of Sanjay’s son, Himanshu Verma, an eyewitness. He named Shakti Kumar of Azimgarh village here and said there were two unidentified persons.
Meanwhile, a large number of people from various walks of life, including state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar, attended Sanjay’s cremation. Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian later visited the grieving family.
Sanjay’s elder brother, Jagat Verma, appealed to Warring to raise the issue in the Lok Sabha. “I am a businessman who never argued with anyone. Gangsters jailed by the Centre are orchestrating crimes from behind bars,” he said.
Warring said the killing reminded him of the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala. “Even I don’t feel safe. I keep changing the time and route of my morning and evening walks,” he said.
BJP workers led by Jakhar burnt an effigy of the state government outside the deceased’s showroom.
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